


Fidget

by SilenceIsGolden15



Series: Voltron Oneshots [32]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Autistic Keith (Voltron), Fluff, Gen, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Shiro (Voltron) is a Good Friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-06 05:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17339351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilenceIsGolden15/pseuds/SilenceIsGolden15
Summary: Shiro gets Keith a gift.





	Fidget

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on my own experience when my sister bought me a fidget cube. It was magical.

It was finally here. After two weeks of impatiently waiting and checking his mail twice a day, the little yellow package had finally arrived. Shiro didn’t even wait to go back to his room, he simply tore the padded envelope open right there in the hallway.

It was precisely what he’d expected. A black cube that was a bit small for him but would fit perfectly into a smaller palm, accented with red on each side. A joystick on one, five buttons arranged in an X on the other that made a pleasing clicking sound when pressed. The click could be replicated on the third side with a switch that could be pressed back and forth.

The fourth side had a line of three black gears along the top and a little silver mouse ball below. The fifth had a small plastic turntable you could spin with your thumb, and the final side was blank. 

It was perfect. 

He had a class to teach in half an hour in the C wing, but Shiro instead headed towards the cadet dorms in A wing. As long as he was quick he could make it in time, and this certainly couldn’t wait. 

He stopped in front of dorm #307, carefully making sure he used the same rhythm he usually did when he knocked so that the person inside would know it was him. A voice called for him to come in. 

Keith was facing away from him, scrunched over the desk positioned under the window as he studied for the exam Shiro knew he had in fifth period. As usual one foot was braced against the floor and raised onto his toes, giving him ample room to bounce his leg. His whole body juttered slightly from the movement, but Keith didn’t seem to notice. In his right hand he flipped a pencil over his knuckles, tapping each end on the paper in front of him in rapid succession.

_ Taptap taptap taptap taptap taptap _

“Hey, Keith, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“I’m kinda busy.” The tone was brusque, but by now Shiro knew not to take it personally. 

“I know, but I’ve got something for you. It’ll only take a minute.”

If rather reluctantly, Keith turned away from his work, swiveling his chair around to face Shiro. The moment his foot met the floor again it resumed its bouncing. 

“Alright, what is it?”

From his blazer pocket Shiro produced the small black cube, and watched as Keith’s brow furrowed.

“What is that?”

“It’s a stim toy.” Shiro explained, and Keith’s expression seemed to simultaneously smooth and furrow even further. It hadn’t been until he started attending the Garrison that Keith had been diagnosed, and Shiro had had to do a lot of Googling to educate both himself and Keith on what it meant. Keith had been completely amazed to learn that all of his strange habits and “tantrums” had a name and a reason behind them, not just him being Strange or a Bad Kid, as he’d been told so many times. 

He’d only learned about stimming about a month before, and he was still a bit self conscious about it. Shiro was hoping to change that.  

He took a few steps forward, pausing about an arms length from Keith. “This one is called a fidget cube. It’s got a bunch of different things on it that you can mess with while you’re doing other things. Wanna give it a try?”

Keith crossed his arms-- not a sign of getting defensive, but rather a pressure stim. One of his favorites. Still, he was hesitating. 

“It’s alright if you don’t like it.” Shiro said in a tone that he hoped would be soothing and not patronizing. “We can try other ones if this one doesn’t work out.” 

Keith waited a split second longer before carefully holding out his hand for the cube. Shiro had to bite back a grin as he passed it over, and he stood in silence for a few minutes, watching Keith studiously try out each function. 

He zeroed in quickly on the switch, pressing it back and forth with his thumb and smiling a bit at the click sound it made. He did that for a few seconds, then suddenly stopped. 

“I don't think I could use that one.” He said with a distraught expression. “Won’t the clicking annoy other people?” 

“Don’t worry about other people. Just use the parts you like.”

“Are we even allowed to have these in class?”

“Yes, students who are on the spectrum or have ADHD or anxiety or what have you are allowed to have stim toys in class. I made sure of that before I got this for you.” The last thing Keith needed was to have his hopes brought up and destroyed for the millionth time. 

Keith carefully resumed his clicking, and it only took about thirty seconds for them both to realize. Shiro grinned, and Keith stared down at his leg incredulously before looking to Shiro with wide eyes. 

“Shiro, it… stopped.”

“Yeah, bud, I saw.”

“No, Shiro, you don’t understand, I’ve  _ never  _ been able to make it stop.” He stared at the cube in awe. “It’s like magic.” 

Shiro chuckled. “So you like it then?”

Keith clutched it tightly, holding his fist to his chest, as though he half expected Shiro to take it back. “ _ Yes _ , I love it.” His other hand, held close to the other, jerked a bit. Shiro had seen him flap his hands when he got really excited once or twice, but most of the time he restrained it. That would be the next item on Shiro’s “Convincing Keith It’s Ok to Stim” list. 

“I’ll be really careful with it.” He promised, his thumb already returning to the switch. “I promise I won’t break it or have it get taken away.”

_ Oh, right _ .

“No one’s going to take it away.” Said Shiro firmly. “Even if you get in trouble in class. They’re classified as medical devices, like hearing aids. If anyone does try to take it from you, you tell me, ok?”

“Ok.” Keith linked his ankles together, still clicking the red plastic switch. His legs were miraculously still, and he looked up at Shiro with shining eyes. “Thank you, Shiro.”

“No problem, bud.”

Shiro was late for his class, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. 


End file.
